Community Shows Support for 4-Year-Old with Terminal Cancer

ABC News(DALLAS) — People across the country are sending in pictures of themselves showing support for Dyrk Burcie, a 4-year-old from Texas with terminal cancer.

Dyrk was diagnosed with stage four liver cancer when he was just 3 years old.

“On March 8, 2011, while Dyrk was getting a bath, we felt a distinct mass on his abdomen,” Dyrk’s mom, Shelley, wrote on the “Fundraiser for Dyrk Burcie” Facebook page. “Both Dameon [Dyrk’s dad] and I had a sinking feeling in our gut that this is not good.”

When they took Dyrk to the emergency room the next day, they were given the unimaginable diagnosis.

And so the Burcies began the long process of trying to heal their young son.

Dyrk has already endured nine rounds of chemotherapy, five surgeries and a liver transplant, according to ABC News Dallas affiliate WFAA.

Dyrk’s dad, Dameon Burcie, is a lieutenant with the Dallas Fire Department. His fellow firefighters decided that while doctors worked to heal Burcie’s son physically, they wanted to do something to lift the Burcie family’s spirits.

So the firefighters began taking photographs of themselves to support Dyrk — holding up posters with words of encouragement and spelling out Dyrk’s name in creative ways.

The support began to spread — first to other fire departments in the area and, eventually, it became a trend across the country.

Firefighters, sports teams, hospital staff and families have all sent in photos to boost Dyrk’s spirits and help support the Burcie family.